2010 Ford Fusion hybrid (midsize): 41 mpg city

[Dr Mordrid]

Link...

Ford Fusion Hybrid to get 41 mpg city

Associated Press

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s much ballyhooed 2010 Fusion Hybrid will get 41 city miles per gallon and 36 mpg on highways, based on final certification figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the company said Monday.

The move is one of the final steps in getting the vehicle to dealerships next spring. Certification of the vehicle was recently completed at the company's testing laboratories in Allen Park, Mich.

Ford said that the Fusion Hybrid tops Toyota's Camry hybrid -- its main competitor -- mileage by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway.

The Fusion can travel up to 47 miles per hour using only battery power. After 47 miles (per hour), the car's four-cylinder engine turns on to power the car and recharge the battery.

The Fusion's nickel-metal hydride battery is lighter and produces 20 percent more power than the Ford Escape hybrid. It also devised a way to get 28 percent more power out of the battery cells, said Praveen Cherian, program leader for the Fusion Hybrid.

"It's not just one thing, but thousands," he said of the improved mileage numbers. "We've optimized the heck out of that vehicle, it's individual components."

The battery can also tolerate higher temperatures, and Ford has eliminated its battery cooling system in the Fusion, allowing the battery to cool using regular cabin air.

The company has also improved its regenerative braking system, which captures energy lost through brake friction and stores it for battery usage. Ford said 94 percent of brake friction energy is recovered in the new model.

The Fusion also includes SmartGauge technology, which helps drivers adjust their driving to get more mileage out of the car.

Ford unveiled the Fusion Hybrid at the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, along with the Mercury Milan hybrid.

[Nowhere]

O...K... That's quite typical of modern highly efficient purely ICE vehicle (some modern diesel - definatelly)

[cjolley]

O...K... That's quite typical of modern highly efficient purely ICE vehicle (some modern diesel - definatelly)

41 CITY !?

Can you name a single ICE vehicle that gets that?
The Smart Car doesn't even get that.

[Nowhere]

41mpg is a little less than 6L per 100km...few year old Vectra diesel of my buddy does a little over 7 when driven properly (which is part of appeal of hybrid vehicle when you look at it like that - "automatic" proper city driving); otoh similar difference is on highway, but this time in favour of the diesel.

So...yeah, it's quite comparable/typical; quite possibly newer diesels are even closer/better. Point is - why waste manufacturing resources on a hybrid (and, what's usually more important to the buyers - paying waaaay higher price (typically here 1,5x - 2x)) when you can get comparable fuel economy already.

[JTD]

41 CITY !?

Can you name a single ICE vehicle that gets that?
The Smart Car doesn't even get that.

The BMW 318d does 17,5 km/l (that's 41,1 mpg according to google).
And a Smart Fourtwo Coupé with a petrol engine does 44,1 (18,7 km/l) mpg city.

[cjolley]

I wonder if Europe and the US calculate mileage very differently.
The Smartfortwo is rated 33mpg city (14km/L) in the US.
And cars almost never obtain actual mileages as good as their ratings here, especially city mileage.


PS I don't think the 318d is available here.

[Brian Ellis]

41 CITY !?

Can you name a single ICE vehicle that gets that?
The Smart Car doesn't even get that.

Are you kidding or do you have your head in the sand?

The Prius (official figures according the the same criteria)
City 48 mpg
Highway 45 mpg

The HCH
City 40 mpg (I get 41-42 mpg most of the time in urban traffic)
Highway 45 mpg

The EPA don't list any of the small European cars, like the Smart. The diesel Smart is claimed to reach 89.6 mpg(imp) = 76 mpg(US) in a combined cycle. Wikipedia cites 69 mpg.

The Toyota iQ is claimed to reach 45 mpg city, 50 mpg highway

The Audi A2 1.2 TDi has a combined cycle of 79.2 mpg(US)

The Peugeot 107 1.0 Petrol has a combined cycle of 61.4 mpg(imp) = 51.8 mpg (US)

etc.

There are any number of economy cars available with a better performance than the FFH, especially for highway use, where 36 mpg(US) is shameful gas guzzling.

[Mehen]

Man I wish I could get anywhere near ANY of those numbers.

In the cold winters, when only city driving, I get around 15mpg. Something more like 17.5mph in the summer, mosty city driving. '93 Taurus 3.8L V6. Granted I pull a boat with it in the summer, not gonna try that with a Prius...
And that is not all that uncommon in Canada, especially with everyone driving big cards, big trucks, and big minivans.

[Mehen]

Here's an interesting stat which goes to show you how terrible older american cars are on gas:
"The R8 V10 with R tronic gets by on an average of 13.7 liters per 100 km (17.17 US mpg)." That's better than my car and that thing has 525hp/390.91 lb-ft as opposed to my 140/215.

[az]

I wonder if Europe and the US calculate mileage very differently.

Yes, very. European figures are unrealistically optimistic. Generally lower (in l/100 km) or higher (in mpg) than US figures, which are more accurate.

[cjolley]

Are you kidding or do you have your head in the sand?

etc, etc...

[edit] Of course I was only referring to non-hybrid, ICE only, cars. [/edit]

Head in the US where none of the cars you listed, that are not hybrids, are available.

Except the Smart (gas) which is sold here and listed by the EPA as 33MPG City.

NB. I was only referring to City mileage.

I agree that 36mpg highway isn't all that great.
But, for a mid sized US designed car it's a huge improvement.

Remember, I have the same car you do. Except ours is blue
Our driving is more urban than yours on average and so we get about 2mpg less than you do. Which I am quite happy with.
Especially compared to my Lexus which gets about 15mpg city on Premium.
(though, it does get about 28 on the highway, even going pretty fast)